Calling
his laboratory the “coldest place in the universe,” Nobel
Prize-winning physicist Carl Wieman presented his research
on creating and manipulating Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) to a packed
Rosebud Theatre in February.

Dr. Wieman, a physics professor at the University of Colorado, explained
that the condensates occur when atoms of certain gases are cooled to
the lowest temperatures possible, creating a new state of matter. “Scientists
are just beginning to understand the unusual properties exhibited under
these conditions,” he said.

Many scientists compare BEC to laser technology and believe that the
research will help create sensitive measurement instruments and a new
generation of computer chips. It might also be used in the assembly
of nanodevices and atomic lasers.

In 1995, Dr. Wieman and his colleagues were the first to create Bose-Einstein
condensates, a discovery that earned him the Nobel Prize for physics
in 2001.

U.S.
Rep. Joe Barton told students at an Engineering Week
presentation in February that successful engineers must possess keen
people skills in addition to being problem-solvers.

“If you don’t like people,” he said, “you shouldn’t
be in engineering.”

An industrial engineering graduate of Texas A&M University, Barton
has represented Texas’ 6th District, which includes parts of Arlington,
since 1984 and currently chairs the House subcommittee on energy and
air quality.

“It’s a balancing act between developing coal resources,
revitalizing our nuclear option and developing solar and wind power,”
he said of the energy markets. “We have what we need here. It’s
a matter of using what we have effectively.”

“Chris Farley has come out of the grave,” he responded
to a fan who repeatedly yelled dead-on imitations of the late Saturday
Night Live star.

Kennedy’s original material, like his irritation with strangers
who reveal personal information, drew laughs as well from the 1,200
audience members.

“I was in a restaurant the other day, and the waitress takes
my order and says, ‘I’ve got to tell you something. This
isn’t really what I want to do.’ To which I replied: ‘Well,
can you at least do it for the next five minutes?’

“Can you imagine if your doctor said that? A doctor sticks a
laser in your eye and says, ‘This isn’t what I really want
to do. I want to be a dentist.’ ”